As they saw it
This year, the government will submit its periodic report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) committee that sits in Geneva every four years detailing the progress in child rights made by the country. And who better to report the progress made so far than the children themselves?
So, while the government of Uttarakhand is busy conjuring its UNCRC progress report, child representatives of the state have already come out with an alternate report for submission to the UN, aptly titled 'As We See It.' They have reported on the ground reality, as they see it, on some of the government's interventions that are aimed directly at them.
The children are a part of the Unique Media Approach of New Generation (Umang) programme, which came into existence three years ago. It is a state-wide network of child journalists in Uttarakhand who are engaged in child right sensitisation and advocacy at various levels and is supported by Shri Bhuvneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA) and Plan India. Today, the network represents children from all 13 districts of the state and more than 1,625 child journalists are a part of it.
"The problems aren't always as straightforward as people think," said 17-year-old Pankaj Kumar, adding, "The government does its bit in taking out new schemes and the like but fails to create adequate awareness about the same. And on the other hand, the people for whom these schemes are taken out ignore them on account of being too troublesome." The children have been trained in media tools and they have come up with photographs and cartoons that have been used in their report. They spent the past six months talking to community members, officials and children and have collected data from a group of villages of each district.
The children's research into the situation regarding birth registration even highlights how the government often ends up working against itself. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has set 100% enrolment as its goal and teachers are instructed to provide education for all, so admissions take place based on any relevant information and birth certificates are not required. So while it is busy carrying out elaborate efforts to ensure universal birth registration, it is also successfully creating means to overlook the same.
Similarly, 14-year-old Laxman Negi did his bit with a comic on the ill-effects of alcohol that helped his friend's father realise his mistakes. So, while Umang has helped many like Pankaj and Monica find a voice to demand their rights, those like Laxman have found means to express them. And as the project co-ordinator for Umang, Tanushree Soni, pointed out: "The programme was started long before the UNCRC progress report, and will continue long after..."